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Topic: Candy (Read 3028 times)

So I made up around 10 lbs of candy and they are cooling in their molds ATM. This was done due to starving hives and concern about being able to inspect them with dry sugar dumped on them. I have never bad luck with fondant or candy. My last attempt at candy was a a recipe with protein powder added in. It was as hard as a rock when it set. I put it in my hives and it turned into a soft taffy. It drooped half way down my frames and became rock solid when the bees died. That stuff I just set on top of the hive without anything underneath it. How can I protect myself from this happening again? My molds are paper plates. Can I just leave the paper plate where it is and put that on top of the hive or does the candy really need to be in direct contact with the hive? Will wax paper or newspaper be enough? I really really don't wants repeat incident.

We don't add protein powder to our candy unless we know they will have cleansing flights. Not happening in the middle in winter.Making goods candy is very dependent on temperature when cooking.A good quality temp gauge is a must to make turn out.It should be hard when cooled down and not soft at all.Turning that soft is a sign of to much moisture in the hive.Think top entrance or top vent box for next winter.We use a 2 inch shim above the top box and that is covered by innercover and top.We have used a wood bound queen excluder on the top box to hold candy.Before that, I made frames of 1 by covered with 1/2 hardware cloth.Easy viewing of remaining candy by inner cover hole.

The disaster was last year. I have upper vent in a two inch shim which sounds similar to what you run. I plan on getting one of those ir thermometers. For now I just want to prevent starvation without these things oozing down.

I've had protein patties melt in the hive before, not had hard candy do it though.You could try to make it harder, like firm ball or even hard ball candy.I like mine between soft ball and firm ball.We use brownie pans lined with saran wrap for a mold.I use this one for the candy.http://www.meijer.com/s/wilton-candy-thermometer/_/R-142420

They are sold all over up here under several different names. Look the same.

Basically what I use. I brought it to 270 and it's setting in paper plates because I guess that's what I had on hand. Another question....will the candy be more dense that plain sugar due to loss of air space between sugar granules?

Heating to 270 (hard ball) is Robo's recipe for bee candy. http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/emergency-feeding/I think Danno uses that recipe also.Gives true meaning the term "brick" that stuff is hard.The bees still use it up and I think it collects more moisture than softer candy.Your boiling off the liquid to get to temp, so I guess it's more dense.

Candy right on top of the cluster will absorb moisture from the bees' breathing and soften from the heat from the cluster. I cook mine to the upper end of softball. Also, they would need the protein in the spring and not mid-winter.

You can probably lay a (as in one) sheet of newspaper under the candy, so it won't drip even if it gets soft and gooey. The candy needs to be in contact with the cluster for them to use it when it is below 50F. They can chew through a sheet of newspaper faster than through a paper plate.

I stir it until it reaches the appropriate temp then I pour it into the molds and leave it. It was hard as a rock when I took the pic. I am getting so sick of throwing away sugar. I suppose the last ditch effort is to get one of those ir thermometers and see if that works better. At what temp does sugar normally carmelize?

Not sure of the temp. I make caramel for brewing some of my belgian beers recipes. I just dont stir as much and it just kinda burns it. It all happens really fast. It might just be harder to control and monitor the temp with small batches. I do 25 lbs of sugar at a time in my garage with a turkey deepfrier setup. One thing that I should point out is making large batches is not a waste even if you only have a couple of colonies. The stuff lasts forever. In spring when the bee's start flying and dont need them anymore I pull all the remaining boards off and store them in sealed plastic buckets. These get used first the next winter.

Here's something I thought of while sitting at work...I've always added lemon juice to all of the sugar products that I feed my bees. I am assuming this is why my candy turned out funny. So the next question....is this stuff darker because of the lemon juice rendering it usable or did the lemon juice change the chemistry of the sugar predisposing it to carmalization?

Sorry for the double post. This just hit me that I used the stuff whereas most suggest to use vinegar.

I found that there can be a big difference between thermometers purchased.I placed 6 of them together and checked the results. The dial type were all over the place. The style I listed were within a couple degrees of each other.I would try a small batch without the juice and use vinegar instead.It should be opaque and set hard when cool.Let us know how it turns out.

Here's the recipe for a small batch.Five lb sugar2 cups water1 tablespoon vinegarCombine and stir to dissolve sugar.Start heating to temperature without stirringHeat to 234 degrees, about 12 minutes on my stoveRemove from heat and let cool to under 200 degrees, about 12 minutesStir or whisk till it starts to get cloudy and quickly pour into moldsYou have to move fast after stirring cause it will set quicklyIf you want to add anything else to the candy, do it just before you stir it.When adding protein powder, I place in bottom of mold before pouring.

235-240 is called softball, but the bee candy will be hard to the touch. Not gooey.You can't dent it with your fingernail.The higher the cooking temp. the harder it gets.I usually let them cool down overnight in the open.Scroll down this page for a photo of how white it looks.http://wadesbees.wordpress.com/category/feeding-bees/He is now using our recipe with the vinegar added instead of creme of tarter.